Japan transportation

we'll be in japan for 9 days via osaka but i plan to go straight to tokyo from kansai airport. days 1 to 4 to be spent in tokyo, days 5 to 7 in kyoto, and days 8 and 9 in osaka. should we purchase jr pass for this itinerary? which kind? thanks!

Hi! There is useful page about the JR pass here

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html

A rough price for a reserved seat on the Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo, coming back to Kyoto is around \28000 I think. As the pass costs around \29000 then if you are planning to use JR trains for more than \1000 of fares it is worth it. Looking at your itinerary I would say it is probably worth it for you, if you travel to Shin-Osaka from the airport by JR and make extensive use of the JR lines in Tokyo.

Be aware you will have to pay extra to use the subway systems in Kyoto and Osaka, and that the pass is only valid for 7 days and so will not cover your last few days in Osaka. You cannot get the Nozomi train (the fastest kind of shinkansen) with the JR pass. Also the pass is valid for 7 calendar days, so it might be worth travelling to Osaka late on day 7 via the JR line and staying in Osaka, as it will not be valid on the morning of day 8, but this is only a train journey of about \500 so not so important. Let me know if you want any other information I can try and help, as I live in Japan I'm not too experienced with the JR pass but I can try and find other information for you!

thank you for your informative reply. i'm thinking of purchasing the kansai pass for days 8 and 9. would it be worth it?

Mmm if you are going to be staying in Osaka for those days I would say probably not, the regional passes only really work out better if you have a medium/long distance journey in there. There is something called the Osaka Amazing Pass, the details are here:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html#ticket

Anyway the two day pass might be good for you depending on how much you plan to travel, it can give you discounts at several sightseeing spots too so you should check that out. Also, if you are wondering how much subway or JR trains are going to cost while you are in Japan I recommend checking on Hyperdia. http://www.hyperdia.com/ It's available in English and is pretty simple to use, just make sure you have the exact station names you need when entering data, just putting in the name of a city or area won't give you intended results. Anyway that way you can work out for yourself how much you expect to pay in fares and whether these passes are worth it for you.

i see. thanks again. day 8 would be travel from kyoto to osaka hotel. then check out osaka castle before going to universal studios. rest of night shopping in dotonbori and shinsaibashi. day 9 would basically be travel from hotel to kansai airport.